LEILA FADEL, HOST:
President Trump says Israel has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, but we have not heard directly from either the Israeli government or Hamas. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi is in Tel Aviv with more. Good morning, Hadeel.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: So Trump says Israel has said yes to a deal. But without having heard from Israel or Hamas, how close are the two sides actually to a ceasefire? Do we know?
AL-SHALCHI: So yes, that's exactly right. Trump said that his representatives have had had, quote, "long and productive meetings with the Israelis." Trump said that Israel agreed to necessary conditions to finalize the ceasefire. A person briefed by Israeli officials who couldn't speak publicly because they're not authorized to speak to the media said Israeli officials believe that by the time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets President Trump in the White House - likely on Monday - an Israeli-U.S. agreement will be reached that will outline the framework for ceasefire talks.
But now, let's just be very clear. This doesn't mean a ceasefire will begin next week. It's just about setting the ground rules for entering ceasefire talks. And like you said, it's unclear whether Hamas will be on board. There hasn't been an official statement from the group since Trump made his comments yesterday. But on social media, Trump said that if Hamas doesn't accept the deal, quote, "It will only get worse," meaning the deal will become less favorable for them.
FADEL: Yeah. And just a reminder - I mean, this is coming nearly two years into the war at this point. What's in this deal?
AL-SHALCHI: It's actually very similar to a deal proposed by the U.S. special envoy, Steve Witkoff, months ago. It's a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for Hamas releasing 10 living hostages. That's half the number of living hostages Israel says are being held in Gaza today. Now, that person briefed said that during a ceasefire, there'll be a partial Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza. Now, the sticking point has always been that Hamas insists on guarantees to permanently end the war, and Israel has only agreed to a temporary ceasefire. Trump said yesterday that after a ceasefire begins, the U.S. would, quote, "work with all parties to end the war." The person briefed on the issue said that mediators and the U.S. will provide assurances for talks towards the completion of the war, but Israel is currently not committing to it.
FADEL: Now, Israel, Hamas, all the mediators, including the U.S., have been trying to get to this point for months. So what's changed?
AL-SHALCHI: I mean, simply put, American pressure. Israel and the U.S. are signaling that they're trying to use the momentum of what they see was a victory in Iran during the war there the past couple of weeks to reach a Gaza ceasefire and even bigger moves in the region. You know, the person briefed said that there will be talks about a potential security agreement between Israel and Syria, which have had a hostile relationship for decades. Trump also wants the Abraham Accords to be part of his legacy. Now, those are a number of treaties that normalize relations between Israel and Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia. But it's unlikely that Arab countries will sign on unless the war in Gaza ends.
Now, this is another thing. Netanyahu has refused to accept a full end to the war, mainly because his far-right coalition partners in government have threatened to collapse his government if the war ends. So we're going to need to see how this coalition receives this version of a ceasefire deal. And by the way, the Israeli parliament goes into recess later this month, and analysts are saying that's when Netanyahu could actually make moves to end the war, and the far-right won't be able to topple this coalition during that summer recess.
FADEL: NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Hadeel.
AL-SHALCHI: You're very welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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